McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris’ 2025 F1 season has truly been one its ups and downs. Having finished second in the Drivers Championship in 2024, the Briton is on a mission to secure his first Drivers’ Championship. However, potentially denying him the chance would be teammate Oscar Piastri. The 2025 season has been Norris’ best start he’s ever had to a season. Currently P2 in the Drivers Standings with 226 points to his name, the Briton has found a building momentum which would hopefully take him a step closer to achieving a life-long dream of becoming a F1 World Champion.
A victorious high in Melbourne
Having won the season-finale in Abu Dhabi, Norris’ stellar performance secured the Woking-based team their first Constructors Championship since 1998. In 2024, Norris got a glimpse of what it was like to fight for a championship for the first time in his career. Headed into this season, Norris and Piastri were evident favourites to claim the coveted Drivers Championship—alongside the Constructors. Although, one could never leave reigning World Champion Max Verstappen out of the picture when talking about a Championship. Ending his 2024 season on a high, the Briton started his seventh season in F1 where he left off in 2024 with a statement drive in Melbourne.
Starting the year strong, Norris qualified on pole for the season-opener. In what was an extremely chaotic and eventful race, the 25 year-old kept delivered a stellar drive to secure his first win of the season. After McLaren’s strong 2024 season, this result was exactly what Norris needed to kickstart a year in which he entered as a championship favourite. Navigating the challenges of a mixed-conditioned race, Norris kept his cool and proved his worth to everybody.
Salvaging a disappointing result in Jeddah
In subsequent rounds, Norris’ consistency kept him at the top of the standings—having secured podiums in the first four rounds. However, the journey has not been all smooth sailing for the now 8-time race winner. Some could argue, that Norris’ weekend in Jeddah, was the first of two major mistakes he has made thus far in 2025. For the Briton, it was an unfortunate weekend after he crashed during the last part of Qualifying. Thus, this denied him a chance at a higher grid spot. As a result, Norris started P10 for the race.
Having made-up for a poor Qualifying, Norris charged through the field to finish P4. In his championship pursuit, this result served as damage-limitation for the Briton. Norris held onto the championship lead for 4 races. The costly weekend in Jeddah has served as an important turning point in 2025 as Piastri claimed his spot at the top. Despite this setback, Norris’ race-pace was a positive to take away from the weekend. To some parts of the the media, the mistakes that crept in were a sign of the pressure getting to Norris.
Early signs of cracking under pressure?
After his win in Melbourne, the Briton often played second fiddle to Piastri—who had executed his weekends better. In a car that has exerted dominance over their competitors, Norris has been vocal about his struggles in tackling the MCL39. As the season continued to unfold, critics were quick to question the Briton’s ability in becoming a championship-winning driver.
Certain media members bombarded Norris with questions about how his struggles continued to prevail, while Piastri appeared to remain comfortable. Ultimately, the Briton always emphasised that he needed to adapt his driving style to suit the car’s characteristics. Qualifying has been Piastri’s strength in 2025, giving the Australian an edge over Norris—an area where Norris has struggled this season. During their time as teammates, Norris has trumped Piastri in the Qualifying head-to-head metric. But, in 2025, this has changed.
Piastri’s wins have come from out-qualifying Norris—apart from one occasion in Miami. In a year where the 25 year-old has his best shot at the championship, Norris must make Qualifying a key focus. With Piastri stepping up in Qualifying, the Briton simply needs to minimise mistakes. Notably, Norris has converted 3 of his 4 wins in 2025 from pole, proving he can deliver when starting up front. Once he overcomes his Qualifying struggles, there’s little doubt his consistency at the top can continue.
Redemption comeback in Monaco
By Imola, Norris was 3 race-wins down to Piastri. Despite weaker Qualifying performances, Norris’ strong comebacks have helped him stay close to Piastri in points. After a string of average weekends, his standout weekend in Monaco was the breakthrough many had anticipated since the season opener in Melbourne.
Despite not topping any of the practice sessions, the 25 year-old showcased impressive one-lap pace heading into Qualifying. As such, the weekend begun with a stunning lap during Qualifying to pip Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to pole. This now meant it was up to Norris and McLaren to finish the job—and he did just that. After retaining the net lead following the mandatory pit stops, the Briton navigated his way through back-markers with composure. In the closing laps, Leclerc looked poised to mount a challenge, but Norris held firm and crossed the line to claim a well-earned victory.
Throughout the weekend, the Briton demonstrated impressive race-pace in Monaco, proving what he’s capable of when everything comes together. However, it wasn’t long before Norris faced a weekend to forget—suffering what was clearly his worst race weekend of the 2025 F1 season so far.
Costly mistakes in Montreal
Montreal proved to be a mistake-filled weekend for Norris, both in Qualifying and the race. The Briton struggled to get comfortable with the MCL39’s handling and was fortunate the outcome of the weekend wasn’t worse than it could’ve been. Despite topping FP3 and showing promise in the early stages of Qualifying, things unraveled in Q3. Struggling to find improvement and time, Norris’ second run was only enough for P7. This was another weekend where struggling in Qualifying had costed him dearly once again.
After a timely launch off the line, Norris was carving his way through the field. Delivering impressive first and second stint, the Briton looked to be recovering from a poor Qualifying result. However, a tactless move while trying to overtake Piastri in the closing laps saw him crash into the barriers—narrowly avoiding contact with his teammate.
Although he took full responsibility for the incident, it marked a missed opportunity to close the gap to Piastri in the Drivers Championship, especially after recovering well from a disappointing Qualifying. But in Austria, he bounced back stronger than ever.
Triumphant double-win in Austria and Silverstone
Bouncing back from the setbacks in Montreal, the Briton put in a commanding performance that clearly outshone Piastri. Despite missing FP1, Norris showed no signs of struggle as he delivered a dominant weekend. Throughout the weekend in Austria, it was evident that the Briton was the leading McLaren—having topped all sessions he participated in that weekend. To begin, Norris had set a new record in 2025 by securing pole with the largest margin of the season thus far—by half a second. On one of the shortest tracks on the calendar, the 25 year-old’s lap was truly one of his best.
On Sunday, Norris and Piastri displayed a respectful on-track battle. The duo showcased clean race craft as they duelled it out for the lead. Ultimately, it was Norris who crossed the line first to claim a well-earned victory—his third of the season.
Riding high off his win in Austria, Norris arrived at his home race motivated than ever to secure back-to-back race wins. While the 25 year-old has stood on the podium at Silverstone in previous years, the wait for a home-win lured—until now. The Briton would emerged victorious on home-soil for the first time in his career. Despite qualifying behind his teammate in P3, Norris once again proved his skill in tricky mixed-weather conditions, a strength he had already shown this year with his win in Melbourne. Although some pointed to Piastri’s 10-second penalty as a decisive factor for the win, Norris’ clean execution and composure under pressure deserved full credit.
The fight for the Drivers Championship continues
While Norris’ qualifying performances have not matched the high standards he set in previous years, he still holds an upper hand over Piastri when it comes to race pace and tyre management. Right now, consistency is what’s costing him most. If Norris can iron out his qualifying struggles and minimise mistakes during important runs, there’s little doubt he has what it takes to beat his teammate in the championship fight. With two strong consecutive weekends under his belt, the momentum is building—and it could very well be a turning point in his season.
Seven years into his career and with McLaren, the 2025 F1 season marks the second-time in Norris’ career where he’s had the car to fight in front consistently. Norris, now within touching distance of Piastri, is just 8 points shy from reclaiming his lead in the Drivers Championship. In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren hold a commanding 238-point lead over Ferrari, putting them firmly in control. The Woking-based team appears well on track to secure back-to-back titles. However, as 12 races remain with ample of point-scoring opportunities, the fight for the championship continues to heighten.
